Firearm ejector system capable of ejecting shells of different lengths

ABSTRACT

AN EJECTION SYSTEM FOR USE IN FIREARMS COMPRISES A PLURAL STEP FEATURE WHEREIN SHELLS OF VARIOUS LENGTHS MAY BE EJECTED. THIS SYSTEM IS ADAPTABLE TO MOST IF NOT ALL FIREARMS HAVING A RECIPROCATING BOLT ASSEMBLY ALONG A LINE IN PROLONGATION OF THE BARREL, THUS MAKING POSSIBLE FARILY UNIVERSAL APPLICATION.

NOV. 16, 1971 5, MARTlN ETAL 3,619,928

EJECTO R SYSTEM CAPABLE OF EJECTING SHELLS OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS Filed Oct. 29, 1969 James -Martm. Charles H. Morse I Invamtors= Attorneys United States Patent US. C]. 4225 R 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ejection system for use in firearms comprises a plural step feature wherein shells of various lengths may be ejected. This system is adaptable to most if not all firearms having a reciprocating bolt assembly along a line in prolongation of the barrel. thus making possible fairly universal application.

This invention relates to an improved ejection system for breech loading firearms, and more particularly to an ejection mechanism for use in shotguns wherein shotshells of different lengths may be extracted.

In the past, ejectors for extracting shells of various lengths were rather delicately constructed. These systems featured many moving parts to adjust the ejection sequence to the various shell lengths. As a result, ejection was uneven, and involved much Wear upon the ejector parts. More often than not, the shells would tend to jam while being extracted.

Other systems required that a separate adjustment be made every time a shell of dilferent length was to be used.

As an illustrative example of the prior art, the following two patents are mentioned: Little, US. Pat. No. 1,796,757, issued Mar. 17, 1931, and Morrow, US. Pat. No. 3,431,669, issued Mar. 11, 1969. The Little mechchanism features a slidable camming plate that adjusts for various shell sizes. The drawback of this system is that there is a great deal of wear upon the sliding and camming portions of the plate, and the shell tends to cock as it rises upon the camming bars which increases the chances of jamming.

In the Morrow ejector, an elongated slidable leaf spring element is used as the ejector. It has a curved portion which attempts to bias the shell into ejecting from the receiver. It is obvious from its construction that the Morrow ejector is delicately constructed, and will show a great deal of wear upon the many spring segments and slidable bore portions of the device over an extended period of time.

The present mechanism is ruggedly constructed. It is simple to install and operate, and does a clean job. The invention has a minimum of moving parts to reduce wear and the possibility of a malfunction or costly replacement.

The invention features a double abutment (step) although more than two steps are within the contemplation of design. Each abutment is fixed in place to provide ruggedness to the system. The first abutment functions to eject shorter shells, while the second abutment positioned further back of the first step, will eject longer shells.

It is an object of this invention to provide an ejection system for firearms which is rugged and dependable in operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide an ejection system for firearms that can accommodate shells of various lengths.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an ejection mechanism that has a minimum of moving parts.

3,619,928 Patented Nov. 16, 1971 It is a further object of the invention to provide an ejection system adaptable to firearms having a reciprocating bolt assembly along a line in prolongation of the barrel, so that said ejection system can be used in many gun receivers.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a plural step ejector for firearms, to accommodate different shell lengths.

The invention will be better understood and other objects and advantages will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a 2 /2" shotshell being ejected at the first step of the ejector mechanism of the firearms; and

FIG. 2 shows a 3" shotshell being ejected at the second step of the ejector mechanism of the firearm.

Generally speaking, the invention is for an improved ejection system for firearms having a first step means disposed within said receiver substantially diametrically opposite said ejection port and said extractor. The rim portion of an extracted shell is engageable with the step, and as the shell is further extracted, the shell will tend to pivot about the extractor causing its ejection from the receiver through the ejection port. Now when the shell is longer than will be accommodated by the first step means, the nose of the shell will not clear the breech end of the barrel, so that ejection will not take place. In this instance, the shell will ride over the first step as the shell is further withdrawn from the barrel and will engage a second step means also disposed within the receiver, substantially diametrically opposite the rear end of said ejection port and said extractor. Still further withdrawal of the extractor away from the barrel will cause the longer shell to pivot about the extractor and eject the shell from the receiver through said ejection port.

Now referring to FIG. 1, a 2%" shotshell is shown as it is being ejected from the receiver of the firearm. The receiver 2 has an ejection port 11 through which the shell 9 can pass. The receiver is connected to the barrel of the gun 3, generally about the circumferential edge 20. The barrel has a chamber 18 for the receipt of shotshells. A reciprocating bolt assembly 1 is shown with a hook-like extractor claw 4 which contacts the rim of the shell at point 14. The ejector mechanism consists of an upper track 13 and a lower track 13 having a two-step (abutment) arrangement. The first step is depicted as twin groove-like abutments 5 and 5. Abutment 5 is disposed on the upper track and abutment 5 on the lower track. A leaf spring 7 is positioned within the ejector body between the upper and lower tracks 13 and 13, respectively.

For shorter shotshells, generally 2%. in length, the first step is suflicient to eject them. This is accomplished by withdrawing the bolt assembly away from the breech end of the barrel. The extractor claw will urge the shell from the barrel until the rim 12 of the shell contacts the first step, grooves 5 and 5'. The leaf spring 7 biases the shell towards the extractor claw 4, so that it may stay in firm engagement with the shell rim 14 at all times. The spring bias allows a longer shell to ride over the first step, and also allows a shorter shell to be firmly held during extraction so that it will not drop under the extractor and cause a malfunction. If the shell is a proper length (not greater than 2 /2), then the nose portion of the shell 19 will properly clear the edge of the barrel at point 17. Ejection will result when the bolt assembly is further withdrawn. The action at this point is standard with the shell tending to pivot about point 14 of the extractor as the extractor is pulled rearward.

Now referring to FIG. 2, a 3" shotshell is depicted as it is being ejected from the receiver of the gun. The action involved with its ejection is somewhat similar to that shown in FIG. 1,. with a few exceptions. As this longer shell is extracted by the extractor claw 4, it too contacts the first step of the ejector. But because it is of a longer length, its nose point 19 cannot clear the barrel edge 17, so that ejection does not take place at this time. The further withdrawal of the shell from the barrel will eventually bring the end face surface of the shell 15 in contact with a second abutment 8 positioned rearward of said first step, abutments and 5. The second abutment has substantially a flat face, and engages the end face surface of the shell at point 16. A further withdrawal of the extractor claw will once again tend to force the shell to rotate about point 14 where the extractor claw 4 contacts the shell rim. Since the nose point of the shell 19 is now clear of the barrel edge point 17, ejection will be accomplished as the shell swings through the ejection port 11.

It is easily observed that the present system is simple to construct, simple in operation, and is rugged. If shells of different lengths (other than 2 /2" or 3") are to be used, the ejector can be positioned differently with respect to the barrel edge so that the nose of the shells Will clear at different lengths. It is also possible to change the spacing between abutments to accommodate different shell lengths. A third modification may employ several groovelike abutments 5 spaced in proper relationship along the ejector so that more than two different sizes of shell may be successfully ejected.

It is also feasible to construct the ejector to have only one track, or more than two tracks, if so desired.

Although the present invention has been described showing a preferred design, it is to be understood that various modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily perceive. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a firearm including a receiver having an ejection port, a barrel adapted to receive a shell and connected to said receiver at the breech end, a bolt assembly reciprocally mounted Within said receiver having an extractor for extracting a shell from the barrel as the bolt assembly is withdrawn from said barrel, an improved ejection system comprising:

first step means disposed within said receiver sub- 3 stantially diametrically opposite said ejection port and said extractor, and engageable with the rim portion of a shell as it is extracted from said barrel, whereby further extraction of said shell will tend to cause said shell to pivot about the extractor and eject through said ejection port provided the nose of said shell has cleared the breech end of the barrel; second step means disposed within said receiver substantially diametrically opposite said ejection port and said extractor, positioned rearward of said first means and engageable with the rim portion of a longer shell that was not ejected by the first step means and whose rim has ridden over said first step as the shell was further withdrawn from said barrel, whereby the still further withdrawal of the extractor away from the barrel will tend to cause the longer shell to pivot about the extractor and eject the shell from the receiver through the ejection port; and

a resilient member disposed within the receiver for biasing the rim portion of the shell toward the extractor so that the shell tends to stay in engagement with and pivot about said extractor, and wherein the biasing effect also serves the purpose of allowing a shell unable to eject at the first step means to bypass the first step means so as to contact the second step means as said shell is further withdrawn from said barrel.

2. The ejection system of claim 1, wherein the first step means comprises at least one groove-like abutment for engaging the outer circumference of the rim portion of a shell.

3. The ejection system of claim 1, wherein the second step means comprises a substantially flat faced abutment for engaging the end face surface of the rim portion of a shell.

4. The ejection system of claim 2, wherein the second step means comprises a substantially flat faced abutment for engaging the end face surface of the rim portion of a shell.

5. The ejection system of claim 1, wherein the first step means is disposed within the receiver a sufiicient distance from said breech end to insure. that the nose portion of a 2 /2" shell will clear the edge of the barrel as it is biased about the extractor.

6. The ejection system of claim 1, wherein the second step means is disposed within the receiver a sufficient distance from said breech end to insure that the nose portion of a 3" shell will clear the edge of the barrel as it is biased about the extractor.

7. The ejector system of claim 1, wherein the first step means comprises twin groove-like abutments for engaging the outer circumference of the rim portion of a shell, each abutment disposed upon an upper and lower track of the ejector mechanism, respectively, and further wherein said resilient member is coaxially disposed along the length of the receiver between the upper and lower ejector tracks.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 681,481 8/1901 Johnson 4225 839,517 12/ 1906 Savage 42 2.5

1,796,757 3/ 1931 Little 4225 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner C. T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner 

